The Last Shot (2004)

Too much of everything

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Despite its cast and being distributed by a major Hollywood studio, "The Last Shot" didn't get much of a theatrical release. Maybe the studio heads feared that a general audience wouldn't get the jokes, or maybe it was because it has an ending that to a degree could be considered unhappy. But I personally had a pretty good time watching it. You do have to be kind of knowledgeable about Hollywood to get some of the jokes, but apart from a few jokes that are dead (like the whole dead dog plot thread) there are plenty of other jokes non-experts will get and find amusing. I think that a big key that makes this movie work is that almost all of the characters are very likable. They are flawed, and all are seemingly out for something, but they are sympathetic all the same. The movie is an agreeable way to pass the time.

Joe (Alec Baldwin) is proud of the undercover work he does in catching mob guys. When he gets transferred to Providence, he goes all-out to try and bring down Tommy Sanz (Tony Shalhoub). His idea is to pretend to be a movie producer and bring in the mob in the production of it.Turns out that in Hollywood, it's pretty easy to find a script. Anybody off the street will have one. Meet Matthew Broderick, he plays Steven Schats, the poor schmuck who actually thinks Joe wants to make his movie."The Last Shot" is actually very funny. Broderick and Baldwin are very funny together, and all the compromises that Broderick has to make to get his film made are hilarious. Calista Flockhart plays Broderick's actress/girlfriend, and her character is similar to Ally McBeal, but she's funnier.Unfortunately the story doesn't go far after it's pretty good premise, but it is a short and funny ride. Enjoy "The Last Shot" for what it is - funny, plain and simple.

Some satires about the process of making movies point out to the craziness that process creates among the people involved, which is the idea behind "The Last Shot". It also depicts how most projects go through transformations the people that wrote them, as different people that know nothing about movies get involved.Jeff Nathanson, the director and screen play writer of this funny movie has clear ideas about the concept that too many cooks spoil the broth. He has combined two different elements in his conception of the film. On the one level, there is the FBI investigation on racketeers and on the other, he brings a man who yearns to direct movies into the picture by offering him a phony deal in which supposedly a film is going to be produced, but only as a cover up to trap a mafioso in Rhode Island.The idea of recruiting Steven Schats, an employee of the Graunman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood to direct his film "Arizona", is something that Joe Devine, an FBI man, dreams to get the results he wants. The film, which makes no sense at all, undergoes a change when Joe tells Steven the production will be shot in Providence, in order to take advantage of a deal with that state's cooperation with the movie industry. The young director gets horrified when he discovers how dissimilar the new location is in comparison with the real Arizona.The plot gets complicated as Tommy Sanz, the mafioso who decides to cooperate in letting the movie company use the trucks he controls, to the production company in exchange of an executive producer credit in the movie. The arrival of Emily French, an actress of obscure talent, but with great physical attributes, contribute to create more confusion in the preparation of the movie. Also, Steven's girlfriend, Valerie, and his brother, Marshal, show up to make matters worse.Alec Baldwin plays Joe Devine, the producer with great charm. Matthew Broderick also has an opportunity to shine in the movie. The wonderful Toni Collette appears as the sexy Emily French in great form. Tony Shalhoub is seen as Tommy Sanz, the racketeer. Calista Flockhart, Tim Blake Nelson, Buck Henry, James Rebhorn, do good work in the film. Joan Cusack makes the most of her character and a cameo by Ray Liotta round up the familiar faces in the movie."The Last Shot" is a delightful movie to watch as it's clear the director, Jeff Nathanson, clearly understands what make these people tick.

Recap: FBI-agent Joe Devine has an idea. It's an unorthodox idea that might lead directly to the arrests and conviction of several key mafia members. He just needs to produce a movie. He recruits Steven Schats, a struggling writer/director. It's not hard either to convince or to lead poor Steven, who thinks he might finally get his chance, to film his Arizona-set movie in Providence. A landfill is rebuilt to Grand Canyon, a rental storage converted to a cave and so on. And then the nominated Emily French appears and wants the leading role. Everything seems to go great, and Joe likes to produce the movie. But his bosses at FBI are not convinced he really has to make the movie to get the bad guys...Comments: A great story, based on a true story none the less. It is a shame that nothing better than this came of it. Sure there are some odd moments or peculiar things that happens, some witty dialog but they are far between. Moments to laugh about even scarcer. And when it is finally starting to get interesting, when they start to shoot the movie (think about potential complications with a garbage Grand Canyon, or mafia involvement in the movie like casting known hit men and so on) and one thinks that the fun is about to start, the director of the FBI shows up and cancels the project. End of movie.I don't think there are any poor performances from the actors, I just think they never got a chance to do anything. The cast includes totally wasted talent. Funny Shalhoub is cast as a serious mobster, Broderick's character never got any chance to evolve, Flockhart who plays Stevens hysterical girlfriend might have done well with more space, and I think Liotta appears in just two scenes. The only actor that delivered about what I expected was Baldwin, that calmly played agent Devine in a nice way.No, I expected more from this. A lot more. I think both cast and story was totally mishandled. A documentary of the real event might be funnier...4/10